KAJANG The suburbs of Kajang are quiet and dimly-lit despite the ongoing by-election campaign, but one moving along the narrow housing estate lanes will find clusters of people and cars.

            

It is precisely the humble "kenduri" model that BN is using to reach out to Malay voters, many of whom seem uninterested in the political rallies and campaign events in town.

BN's campaign schedule – the ones distributed to campaigners but not to the media – is packed with thanksgiving “kenduri” and small talks held almost exclusively in private homes.

When contacted, those listed as "speakers" in the list revealed that they are actually from Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (Kemas) and only helped Umno get in touch with households.

"We only conduct tazkirah (discussions) and prayer sessions, the information sessions are conducted by Umno," one Kemas staffer listed on the schedule told Malaysiakini .

"Last night the tazkirah was on being grateful, and we also recited prayers for a resident who has been admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital."

While these events mostly involved local speakers, banners found in the Malay-majority voting district of Taman Mesra last Sunday invited residents to a talk by controversial figure Riduan Tee Abdullah.

Riduan, a lecturer and newspaper columnist, is known for his strong pro-Malay and anti-DAP sentiments.

Uphill climb for PKR

In the previous election, BN lost Taman Mesra by a slim four percent. It is one of six Malay-majority voting districts which BN either won or lost narrowly in May 2013.

These are the areas in which Umno hopes to consolidate voter support in order stop PKR from increasing its winning majority.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang ( left ) has admitted that Malay votes remain the hardest for Pakatan Rakyat in its campaign to deny BN's Chew Mei Fun her deposit.

Indeed, PKR had only managed landslide victories in Chinese-majority voting districts in the 13th general election while mixed areas or Malay-majority areas remained split.

Malay voters make up the majority in the constituency, at 48 percent, which is not very much because Chinese voters make up 41 percent, while Indians, 10 percent.

In the 13th general election, 37 percent of the Malay voters backed PKR.

PKR Kajang by-election deputy information chief Khalid Jaafar said one way Pakatan hopes to reach out to Malay voters is through the women.

"We lost in Malay majority areas. Women make up half the voters in Kajang, so our campaign is centred around their daily routine.

"They don't come out to events and door-to-door campaigns might be disruptive as they could be busy with household chores.

"So we are catching them at markets and meeting them outside the school gates when they pick up their children in the afternoon," he said.

At a school in downtown Kajang yesterday, one mother told a campaigner: "You've picked the right spot! I am here every afternoon."

A political celebrity in her own right, PKR candidate Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has thus far been given rock star treatment by women shoppers during her pasar malam and Tesco visits.

Compared with Umno's "locals only" kenduri approach, many of the shoppers approached by Wan Azizah's team confessed that they were not Kajang voters but from neighbouring constituencies. So, are the school and shopping runs really working?

PKR Kajang by-election director Zuraida Kamaruddin said yesterday that the estimated support from Malay voters has risen from 37 percent to 45 percent. Chinese support is estimated at 65 percent while 55 percent of Indian voters are believed to back PKR.

Since Day 1, the party has touted Kajang as a referendum on "injustice" over PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's March 7 sodomy conviction.

With turnout on March 23 expected to be lower than the 87.9 percent in the 13th general election, these are hardly numbers for the referendum PKR hopes to achieve.